Home file server case (room for at least 5 HDDs)?

other · Post by **other** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 6:54 am

I'm looking for a good home file server case, where I need room for at least 5 harddrives (either through 5x 3.5", or using something like CM 4-in-3 with 3x 5.25"). I guess cases with good dust filters would be preferred, but maybe that's not needed. I won't be using an optical drive. It only needs to fit a mATX motherboard (though I assume one is mostly limited to larger cases, made for ATX motherboards, if one wants to fit more harddrives).

Any suggestions? If a good PSU is included, that is certainly a bonus! (I assume that, for example, Antec's EarthWatts PSUs are sufficient.)

kevral · Post by **kevral** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 10:47 am

I'm building a file server myself, and couldn't find a micro-ATX case with enough drive bays to make me happy. So I'm taking an old Antec Solo case (4 HDD bays) and will be adding 5,25 bay adapters as needed (room for 6 more HDDs).

If I weren't recycling an old case, I'd have bought something with a full front of 5,25 bays. Too bad nobody makes an M-ATX case like that.

other · Post by **other** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:22 am

I thought about that (getting a case with a full front of 5.25" bays). I'm a bit concerned though, wouldn't they suck in tons of dust? The one I looked at was called Rebel9.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 1:55 pm

Are you trying to build a quiet PC (doesn't appear you that you are)? Usually it is a good idea to reduce the number of hard drives to one (or two at the most) if you are building a quiet PC.

other · Post by **other** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 11:46 pm

Well, I'd like for it to be as quiet as possible (though, who wouldn't?) under the circumstances, but I need at least five harddrives. I might be able to get it down to four if I buy larger drives (more expensive).

What I can (and will) do is try to get a quiet PSU, CPU-cooler and case fans. And also, a quiet case if available. If you have any suggestions I'd really like to know what.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:02 am

5 HDD's is pretty much. P182 would be quite ideal with Enermax 425W or Corsair VX 450W.

4 HDD's in down chamber and change middle fan into slipstream 800 RPM. 1 HDD into upper chamber... and Uper chamber tr-cools would be removed and replicated with 800 RPM slipstreams... One would probably be enough and top could be blocked...

nutball · Post by **nutball** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 12:06 am

Well I had seven drives in a Solo, four in the sleds in the lower bay, three in NoVibes in the 5.25" bays. All seven were Samsungs, 501LJs and their 80GB cousins. It wasn't quiet. The problem wasn't vibration, or seeks, but simply the amount of white noise that many drives make.

other · Post by **other** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 10:43 am

I can't help but feel a P182 would be very overkill. I also don't think it's worth the money when thinking about what I would use it for.

I've thought about getting an Antec NSK4000 or NSK4480 (which is the same as NSK4000, but with a 380W EarthWatts PSU, if I'm not mistaken). I should be able to fit seven drives in there (three in the internal 3.5" bays and four in the 5.25" bays, with a 4-in-3). My worry there, though, is the lack of cooling for the harddrives in the 3.5" bays.

Another thought I've had was getting an Antec Three Hundred. It has six internal 3.5" bays and three 5.25" bays (so room for ten harddrives). Again though, seems overkill. Too many fans! I don't think that much cooling is needed. Can't be good for the noise level, either. (Sigh, never satisfied.

)

I'd love to find a minitower (but a miditower will do, since I'll probably be looking forever otherwise) just full of drive bays and options for good enough cooling.

fri2219 · Post by **fri2219** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:45 am

I'm using a heavily modded Lian-Li PCA05 as a 6-Drive RAID Box, but if I was going to start from scratch, I'd go with the Antec 300 or the NZXT Tempest.

There's no way you're going to get a quiet solution of out having that many drives, but at least you have the option of using lots of quiet fans.

aztec · Post by **aztec** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 1:56 am

Antec 6580 or Chenbro SR209. The 209 is the smallest server grade case from Chenbro.

other · Post by **other** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 8:39 am

I realize it won't be quiet. I just don't want something that sounds like a freakin' airplane.

(Okay, maybe a tad quieter.) There's certainly nothing that can be done about the noise the harddrives make, but I'll try to keep the other things as quiet as possible.

The Antec 6580 looks like a good alternative! Five internal 3.5" bays cooled by two 92 mm fans. Four 5.25" bays, if I ever feel the need to expand.

It also comes with a 430W EarthWatts PSU, which should do, correct? Though the PSU does use two 80 mm fans, at least it's moderately quiet?

If I go with the 6580, I can't see how I would need a fan on the case door. I should be able to put something for noise reduction over that door, though maybe that wouldn't really make a difference? Well, I should at least put something there to prevent dust from getting in. Unless it's a good idea to use it as a vent for the CPU. And block the bottom vent. Or would that be incredibly stupid?

What do you people think? Would this be a good solution?

aztec · Post by **aztec** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 3:45 am

It looks like you're leaning towards the Antec.

You could easily put 1 peice of cheap sound dampening material on that panel and be done with your worries.

Seriously though, you should give the Chenbro SR11169 a quick view. OR the SR20169 which is $57 at Provantage

http://usa.chenbro.com/corporatesite/pr ... ?serno=102

This thing is a server-grade case and its build quality is top notch.

BTW. What is your budget?

acidgoblin · Post by **acidgoblin** » Thu Sep 11, 2008 8:48 am

Have you considered using a 5 bay IcyDock or similar? With any of the 9 5.25" bay cases you can fit in 15 hard drives

tsb · Post by **tsb** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:48 am

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 1&area=usa

Then buy another HDD cage and you'll be all set.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... B&area=usa

The HDDs are soft mounted and the case is steel, so vibrations should be minimal. You would be running a positive pressure system that would keep out most of the dust and the front fans have adequate filters. The front fans are also wireless.

The drives would be hot-swappable if you use these.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 5&area=usa

The front door should keep the noise down and you could dampen the entire case and door to make it even quieter if you'd like.

This is the best case for the money IMO and it is very versatile should your needs change.

tsb · Post by **tsb** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 6:56 am

delete me

mr. poopyhead · Post by **mr. poopyhead** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 8:17 am

you can save a lot of money by foregoing the whole silentpc requirement and stashing the beast somewhere far away from human ears.... just buy some el cheapo $20 case and toss it in the basement where it can scream at it likes and no one will hear it...

my file server is noisy as hell, but it's in the basement so it doesn't bother anyone.l..

kevral · Post by **kevral** » Fri Sep 12, 2008 2:36 pm

I've just gotten my WHS up and running in the Solo I mentioned.

- Ninja 2 (passive)
- 2 Papst 92mm (undervolted)
- 1 Scythe Slipstream 120mm (came with the Ninja, controlled by mobo and running at about 800 rpm)
- 1 Western Digital GP drive (soon 2 or 3)
- "Mist" 500 W PSU

And this thing is very very quiet. Disappearing into the background noise in my living room.

other · Post by **other** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 1:31 am

Sorry that I haven't replied earlier.

aztec wrote:Seriously though, you should give the Chenbro SR11169 a quick view. OR the SR20169 which is $57 at Provantage

http://usa.chenbro.com/assets/2007/10/1 ... 983992.jpg

http://usa.chenbro.com/corporatesite/pr ... ?serno=102

This thing is a server-grade case and its build quality is top notch.

It looks like a great case. Actually, it might be better than the Antec (6580), but it's probably not as quiet? However, I can't find it over here.

(I live in Sweden, and not the USA. Sorry I didn't mention that. I was hoping to be able to find most cases suggested.)

BTW. What is your budget?

Well, there's certainly a part of me who wants to get away rather cheaply. (Which to me is ~1000 SEK for a case and PSU, which would probably be around $100, maybe a bit more, for you considering how much cheaper things are over there) But if there's a case that's better and more expensive, I would certainly consider it. There's no harm done in suggesting more expensive cases.

acidgoblin wrote:Have you considered using a 5 bay IcyDock or similar? With any of the 9 5.25" bay cases you can fit in 15 hard drives

I have, though I was considering the CoolerMaster 4-in-3, maybe IcyDock is better? I don't need 15 harddrives though.

I'd rather go for a quieter case with less space and better dust filtering, if I had to choose. But maybe compromise isn't needed?

tsb wrote:http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 1&area=usa

Then buy another HDD cage and you'll be all set.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... B&area=usa

The HDDs are soft mounted and the case is steel, so vibrations should be minimal. You would be running a positive pressure system that would keep out most of the dust and the front fans have adequate filters. The front fans are also wireless.

The drives would be hot-swappable if you use these.

http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... 5&area=usa

The front door should keep the noise down and you could dampen the entire case and door to make it even quieter if you'd like.

This is the best case for the money IMO and it is very versatile should your needs change.

This sounds interesting. But is this really better than the Antec 6580? The Antec also has vibration dampening for the harddrives, and I should be able to put a HDD cage in that one as well? Since the Silverstone have five 5.25" bays, two would go to waste, so there's not really more room.

However, I think the point you were also making was that this case would be quieter, correct? That's certainly a plus.

mr. poopyhead wrote:you can save a lot of money by foregoing the whole silentpc requirement and stashing the beast somewhere far away from human ears.... just buy some el cheapo $20 case and toss it in the basement where it can scream at it likes and no one will hear it...

If only.

I live in an apartment and don't have too much space where I can put it away. Hopefully it'll be far enough away that it won't disturb us at night.

kevral wrote:I've just gotten my WHS up and running in the Solo I mentioned.

- Ninja 2 (passive)
- 2 Papst 92mm (undervolted)
- 1 Scythe Slipstream 120mm (came with the Ninja, controlled by mobo and running at about 800 rpm)
- 1 Western Digital GP drive (soon 2 or 3)
- "Mist" 500 W PSU

And this thing is very very quiet. Disappearing into the background noise in my living room.

Sounds good. But all the extra harddrives I plan on using would raise the sound level quite a bit I imagine. Good suggestions on fans and CPU cooling though! I plan on using an AMD 4850e, maybe going passive wouldn't work?

sjukfan · Post by **sjukfan** » Sat Sep 13, 2008 4:04 pm

other wrote:Another thought I've had was getting an Antec Three Hundred. It has six internal 3.5" bays and three 5.25" bays (so room for ten harddrives). Again though, seems overkill. Too many fans! I don't think that much cooling is needed. Can't be good for the noise level, either. (Sigh, never satisfied. )

I was going to say the three hundred, I've been thinking about geting one of those for my home server. And you can always turn down the effect of the fans a bit. But then again, with 10 drives I'm not really sure that it's the fans that make all the noise